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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Affordable Housing Committee - 04/13/2022 - Joint Meeting Housing Trust FundApril 13, 2022, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes – APPROVED Page 1 Approved on May 18, 2022 AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMITTEE April 13, 2022, 6:00 p.m., meeting held online and at City Hall HOUSING TRUST FUND COMMITTEE April 13, 2022, 6:30 p.m., meeting held online and at City Hall AHC Members attending: Janet Bellavance, Leslie Black-Plumeau, Vince Bolduc, Sandy Dooley, Ariel Jensen-Vargas, Darrilyn Peters, Minelle Sarfo-Ado, John Simson, and Chris Trombly; member absent: Patrick O’Brien; Housing Trust Fund Committee members present: Ariel Jensen-Vargas, Larry Kupferman, and Emilie Krasnow; staff present: Jessie Baker, City Manager;; PC liaison, Monica Ostby; public: Linda Bailey, Tom Bailey, Michael Mittag, Todd Rawlings, and Michael Simoneau; media: Mike Hoey, Local 22/44 AGENDA 1. Call to order, agenda review, approval of minutes from 3/28/22 AHC meeting, announcements, public comment, City Manager Update 2. Discussion and possible action on committee’s meeting schedule 3. Discussion and possible action on ARPA Recommendation to City Council (Joint meeting with Housing Trust Fund committee begins with this discussion) 4. Discuss AHC members attending DRB meetings 5. Adjourn 1. Call to order, agenda review, approval of minutes from 3/28/22 AHC meeting, announcements, public comment, City Manager Update Call to order: Chris called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. Agenda review: John moved and Vince seconded motion to approve agenda as presented. Approved: 6-0-0 (Leslie, Ariel, and Minelle had not yet arrived). Approval of minutes: Sandy moved and Vince seconded motion that the 3/28/22 meeting minutes be approved with the modification that Jessie’s notes from the meeting be added. Motion approved: 6-0-0 (Leslie, Ariel, and Minelle had not yet arrived). Announcements: John shared that his term on committee expires this year and he is thinking of not applying for reappointment. Members urged John to apply for reappointment noting the wisdom he brings to the committee’s work. The Climate Action Task Force is meeting on 4/14; they are finishing work on transportation section. Public Comments: None City Manager Update: The City and Summit Properties have submitted an application to Vermont’s Community Development Program office for $1 million in CDBG funds for the two multifamily apartment buildings Summit proposes to build as part of O’Brien Farms. John noted that when the City and Champlain Housing Trust applied for CDBG finds for the Garden Street Apartments, an entourage (CHT staff, City staff, CC Chair, and John as AHC chair) traveled to meeting in Montpelier to urge that this application be funded. John suggested that this be done for the City/Summit application. Jessie said that once they have a date for the meeting at which this application will be reviewed, a similar effort will be carried out. At next CC meeting, Council will review proposal relating to the City’s committee structure and how staff supports committee work. In addition, Council will be reviewing a proposed process for developing the City’s FY23 Policies, Priorities, and Strategies. 2. Discussion and possible action on committee’s meeting schedule: Following input from Jessie and brief discussion among committee members, Vince moved and Sandy seconded motion that the committee change its schedule for meeting to the third Wednesday of the month at 6:00 p.m., pending consultation with the members who are not present for this discussion. Approved: 6-0-0 (Leslie, Ariel, and Minelle had not yet arrived). The next meeting is anticipated to take place on May 18, 6:00 p.m. 3. Discussion and possible action on ARPA; Recommendation to City Council (CC): Chris noted that the subcommittee had met and developed the draft that members received with the agenda. He did outreach on this draft to non-committee members who provided input. Using their and committee-member input, Sandy prepared a subsequent draft that she sent to committee members and others for this meeting. Jessie commended the subcommittee for its excellent work. April 13, 2022, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes – APPROVED Page 2 Members raised several subjects for discussion: (1) adding something about equity and diversity (2) making the criterion on energy efficiency stronger by including prior language “the closer to net zero the better” (3) are we asking for too much by including so many criteria under section 2? (4) is the proposal regarding number of bedrooms based on research? (5) the correction that the percentage number in criterion J should be 60 instead of 65, and (6) should something be added to address providing more homeownership opportunities for the “Missing Middle”? In addition, a typo was noted in first line of section 2 ((delete “the” before “one”). Mike Simoneau (public) provided information about CHT’s receipt of $3 million grant to promote homeownership among BIPOC population and would be a good resource for promoting equity and diversity. Tom Bailey (public) advocated asking for cost data and outcomes that would be achieved. Members engaged in a lengthy discussion of the pros and cons of adding the language “the closer to net zero the better.” Janet then moved and Darrilyn seconded motion that the language “the closer to net zero the better” be added to the criterion relating to energy efficiency. Motion approved: 8-0-3 (with Chris, Leslie, and Minelle abstaining). Though no vote was taken, several members expressed support for advocating to the CC that some of the remaining ARPA funds be used for weatherizing existing homes in SoBu. Regarding the number of criteria in section 2, members agreed that to address this by adding language that explicitly states that including any of these criteria in a proposal is optional. The one-third two bedroom units and one-third three bedroom units criterion was not based on research but proposed due to input regarding the promotion of housing compatible with needs of households having minor children or multi-general households. Members agreed to including a criterion relating to bedrooms but making it general (new language: Proposals that include some housing units having two bedrooms and some housing units having three bedrooms.). The correction of the percentage number was agreed to. Members view criterion I., “Proposals that include more than one housing type and/or a mix of market rate and affordable housing units”, as incorporating the promotion of housing for the Missing Middle. Jessie proposed that the need for cost and outcome data and information relating to applicant’s work to promote home ownership among BIPOC and New American households could be addressed under “Submittal Requirements”, which she would be willing to work with Sandy to draft. While these are not, strictly speaking, criteria that would be appropriate to section 2, they are important. Committee members want CC to know that the committee’s discussion included these subjects, so would like “Submittal Requirements” to be included in statement sent to CC. Members agreed to Jessie’s proposal. At this point, Darrilyn moved and Larry seconded motion that statement for CC with modifications agreed to during discussion and addition of “Submittal Requirements” be approved. Motion approved: 11-0-0. This comprises the nine (9) AHC members present (one member absent) and the three Housing Trust Fund committee members present. Total does not equal 12 because one person is a member of both committees. The draft proposal that the committees worked on is attached. It does not represent the proposal as modified and approved. The proposal as modified and approved will be attached to the approved version of these minutes. 4. Discuss AHC members attending DRB meetings: This item was not discussed due to lack of time. 5. Adjourn: At 8:10 p.m. Vince moved and John seconded motion to adjourn the meetings. Motion approved: 9-0-0 (AHC meeting) and 3-0-0 (Housing Trust Fund meeting) A second draft for consideration and possible action at tonight’s (4/13, 6 p.m.) joint meeting. April 13, 2022, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes – APPROVED Page 3 The Affordable Housing and Housing Trust Fund Committees propose that the City Council approve the following statement of criteria to be used by City staff in developing a Request for Proposals for the development of housing to be supported by up to $1 million in ARPA funds. “To be eligible for receipt of up to $1 million in ARPA funds, a proposal is required to meet criteria A., B., and C. stated below. Proposals that meet one or more of the criteria stated under 2. below shall be given additional weight in the ranking of proposals submitted. 1. All proposals shall: A. include, at a minimum, the percentage of affordable housing units required by South Burlington’s Inclusionary Zoning regulations. Affordable units shall meet all applicable requirements in the City’s Inclusionary Zoning regulations with the exception that pricing for homeownership units shall not exceed what HUD deems affordable at the 100% Area Median Income (AMI) level. B. be submitted by an entity, or two or more entities collaborating, having demonstrated success in developing affordable housing and leveraging additional sources of support for affordable housing C. include information supporting the entity’s/ies’ capability to have all funds obligated no later than December 31, 2024, and spent no later than December 31, 2026 2. Applicants are encouraged to incorporate the one or more of the following criteria in their proposals, which represent South Burlington’s desired outcomes for these ARPA funds. The order below does not represent a prioritization of the stated criteria. D. Proposals in which the percentage of affordable housing units exceeds the percentage required by the City’s Inclusionary Zoning regulations. E. Proposals in which affordable homeownership units constitute the majority (or more) of the affordable units developed F. Proposals in which the energy efficiency of all units exceeds the current requirements of South Burlington’s land development regulations. G. Proposals in which the housing units are located in the Transit Overlay District. H. Proposals in which no less than one-third of the housing units contain two bedrooms and no less than one-third of the housing units contain three or more bedrooms. I. Proposals that include more than one housing type and/or a mix of market rate and affordable housing units. April 13, 2022, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes – APPROVED Page 4 J. Proposals in which some or all of the rental and/or purchase prices do not exceed what HUD designates as affordable to households having income no greater than 65 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). K. Proposals that demonstrate how the ARPA funds are anticipated to be used to leverage additional support, cash and/or in-kind, for affordable housing in South Burlington. 3. Applicants may: L. Propose the development of housing via new construction or the repurposing of existing structures M. Propose construction of housing units that will have begun no later than December 31, 2026, or specify how the amount of ARPA funds requested will have been spent by December 31, 2026, and include a plan indicating how and when this investment will result in the construction of affordable housing units in South Burlington in the future and which criteria specified under 2. above the proposed housing will meet. N. Include additional information about what might be achieved with respect to affordable housing should South Burlington make available more than $1 million in ARPA funds.’”